“Qingshan.”
Qiu Haitang moaned softly. She had never experienced such great joy and pleasure in her life before. She felt like her soul was flying, all the way towards paradise. All of the pain and patience she had gone through had been paid by ten times, a hundred times over.
Connected by the red thread of lovesickness, their thoughts were linked together. Li Qingshan also experienced great joy; he also understood all of her thoughts, as well as what kind of thing the Lovesickness Dyes the Thread Red was.
At this moment, her figure in his arms trembled. A gentle and pure aura flowed into his body through their connection.
Li Qingshan was slightly surprised. He never expected her virginal yin to be so pure and possess such a wondrous power.
He had experienced dual cultivation with Gong Yuan before. Gong Yuan’s cultivation had far surpassed hers, yet the benefit from it came nowhere close. On top of that, the power surged over endlessly as if it wanted to drain her body clean.
Her aura rapidly declined as her smooth, fair skin became a sickly crimson.
However, she was completely unaware, or perhaps she did this intentionally. She embraced him firmly with her white arms and wrapped her legs around his waist, completely ignoring her breasts that were squashed against his body as if she wanted to become part of him.
At that very moment, she poured all of the cultivation she had accumulated across her entire life into Li Qingshan’s body. It was not just the golden core, but all of her vital energies as well.
Li Qingshan came up with an idea. He accepted all of her virginal yin without holding back at all before returning it to her through a kiss on her lips after being absorbed, converted, and refined by the small world. He transmitted a scorching aura over, forming a perfect cycle.
So this is what dual cultivation actually is! Gong Yuan and I just happened to have matching cultivation methods. I suppressed her inner demons for her in exchange for the power from Ruin’s End. We could achieve that effect even without physical union. Right now, she’s basically become my cauldron, which is why I can take her yin to compliment my yang. But at the same time, I am also her cauldron, purifying her vital energies for her and giving her my yang to compliment her yin.
Both buddhism and daoism had dual cultivation methods, which only demonstrated the wonders of dual cultivation methods. They were so great that even buddhist monks and daoist priests would study them.
However, it was far too easy to become lost and blinded by lust, suffering from cultivation deviation and falling into a corrupted path. As a result, it was not recognised by orthodox buddhism, even rejected as a heretic practice.
However, regardless of whether it was recognised or not, dual cultivation was one of the possible paths to enlightenment. No one could deny that.
The Sect of Clouds and Rain was a dual cultivation sect that belonged to daoism. They were split into two schools.
One was to cast the net far and wide, to use all members of the opposite sex throughout the world as cauldrons so that they could collect yin or yang to compliment their yang or yin.
This cultivation method resulted in extremely rapid progress, except the collected auras were not pure, so it took time to refine. It was also easier to encounter bottlenecks. The benefits were it allowed a person to temper themselves more, so they would not become ensnared by love so easily.
The cultivation community did not have those conservative ideals applied to men and women like mortals. Even if they maintained their chaste, it was basically just for the sake of cultivation, not to remain so-called undefiled and pure. They were actually very lax and casual about this matter.
However, many demonic cultivators could not bother to spend so much effort in nurturing a suitable human cauldron of their own. They would go as far as to kill the goose that lays the golden eggs, harming the foundations of their human cauldron’s lives, or even draining them to their deaths. That was why it gained an infamous reputation. However, compared to those demonic cultivators that massacred cities to refine human souls, they could not be considered as people of great evil and wickedness.
The other school was to find a suitable partner as a cultivation companion. That way, both parties would benefit, and their auras would be extraordinarily pure.
Partners like that were not easy to find. Both of them had to possess decent cultivation talent, or they would become deadweights instead. On top of that, they had to be truly in union and agreement, with neither party being forced into the relationship at all. It would take a tremendous mental toll, and it was very easy to become ensnared by love, which was particularly dangerous towards women cultivators. Speaking of which, there were not a lot of male cultivators who were willing to take this path either.
Just like how pigs could fly if men were reliable, “men go bad when they’re wealthy” was the ultimate truth of society regardless of what age or world, and cultivators were far more than simply wealthy.
Actually, regardless of their gender, no one could ensure their mentality would not change on the endless path of cultivation. Once a problem arose between the partners, or if a problem arose with one party, it would be even more miserable than a divorce. Having their minds and souls damaged could be called a lighter consequence. They might even begin to believe that love was not absolute. Once that happened, they were probably better off taking a different path right from the beginning.
The Lovesickness Dyes the Thread Red basically provided female cultivators who took this path with a great safeguard, but the Heart Dyeing Art of Rouge primarily focused on the first path as well. It had many methods to build and control a harem of men properly. It was just like how if a woman could be promiscuous, they could easily act like a paragon of chastity.
Most disciples of the Sect of Clouds and Rain chose the first path, choosing suitable human cauldrons from the passers-by and obtaining a tremendous amount of resources too. They could even have some fun in the process, which was truly all upsides with little downsides.
Qiu Haitang was an exception. Not only did she possess outstanding talent, but she also placed so much emphasis on the concept of love. She only treated the vast, secular world as a way to temper her mind, wholeheartedly waiting for her true love. Otherwise, her cultivation would be much higher than right now.
Li Qingshan pulled her into his arms and gently caressed her long, dark hair that covered her back.
“What an idiot. If I turned down your red thread of lovesickness, not only would your cultivation be destroyed, but your life would even be in danger. Haven’t you considered failure at all?”
I have. Giving everything to you like this and then dying in your arms is not a bad fate, Qiu Haitang thought without any concern.
Li Qingshan could sense her thought came entirely from the bottom of her heart, without any falsehood involved. There was not even any fear. Instead, there was a dreamy tinge of romanticism to it.
“You idiot! You need to think about how I feel!”
But you didn’t decline. Qiu Haitang’s lips curled up slightly. “You’re not going to blame me?”
“I’ve already fallen for your trick. I’m now wholeheartedly devoted to you and absolutely obedient to you, so how can I still blame you? Didn’t you plan all of this?”
By now, how could she still hide those thoughts and plans of hers from Li Qingshan? It really was both an angering and hilarious situation.
“Then… does it work?” Qiu Haitang asked hopefully.
She had gone through such great pain and taken such great risks to capture his heart firmly so that they could accompany each other and never separate again.
“Nope.” Li Qingshan decided without hesitation. His mind was thoroughly tempered. Compared to the foolishness of the ape demon, the stubbornness of the ox demon was more deeply rooted in him. How could he be tied down so easily?
“Fucking hell! What kind of shitty cultivation method is this? It made me go through all those years of suffering! So it’s all just a lie!”
Qiu Haitang was greatly disappointed. If it were only for the sake of becoming cultivation partners with him, why did she bother with so much?
Her eyes suddenly widened as soon as the thought flashed through her head. How could she have a thought like that? Even the tone was completely off.
“Looks like it still works.”
Li Qingshan grinned. The red thread of lovesickness had indeed linked them. The connection was even closer than regular cultivation partners. He was truly smitten by her too, but it was probably better described as being touched by her gestures than being controlled by the technique.
Cultivation partners could influence each other too. She was only a riverlet, while he was an ocean. Who would be influencing who obviously went without saying.
Qiu Haitang wanted to say something else when Li Qingshan grabbed her behind the knees and leaned over on her again, basically bending her body over and beginning a great battle.
The blazing flames of desire immediately set her alight. She could no longer think of anything else. At the same time, a tremendous aura surged into her body. The ocean began to pour into her.
Qiu Haitang’s aura erupted, filling her entire body. Her Rouge Heart shone with unprecedented light. Even her body was tempered, constantly growing stronger.
She had not achieved her objective of completely “taming” Li Qingshan, but a powerful cultivation partner still brought great benefit to her cultivation.
Li Qingshan’s cultivation far surpassed her own. What separated them was far more than a major realm of cultivation. The small world in his body was basically equivalent to an ultimate cauldron. If it were not for the fact that he was afraid she could not withstand it, even making her undergo the third heavenly tribulation was nothing difficult. To a cultivator, that was supposed to be their greatest priority. Only a freak like her would have “taming” Li Qingshan as her greatest objective.
This was not a free ride. For the sake of this day, she had spent her life preparing, giving up everything. It could also be described as great perseverance and great fortune. Her thoughts that differed from the norm were even more important to her than great wisdom.
The room surged with their activity as the moonlight flowed in, clear like water. However, the King of Western Liang’s estate at the top of the mountain was deathly silent. Li Qingshan’s presence left everyone feeling uneasy. Even when he had expressed no ill will, no one could sleep soundly when a tiger lay right beside them.
The King of Western Liang stepped into the hall and waved his hand, closing the doors. The hall was dark and gloomy. Only the violet crystal in the centre of the hall shone with a dim light.
The King of Western Liang bowed towards the crystal politely. “Fellow, what would you like to say?”
Si Long’s figure appeared on the violet crystal. His powers were still not great enough to influence a remote place like the Lightning province, but there was obviously a way for the governors of the many provinces of Great Xia to contact one another.
The King of Western Liang was tense. He could not shirk away from the responsibility of the annihilation of the diplomatic group in Myriad Buddha city. If Si Long ordered him to attack Li Qingshan, what was he supposed to do? It was safer if he remained on the fence, but it would be unavoidable for him to anger both sides.
But to his surprise, Si Long did not ask about Si Qing and the others. He only asked, “Where is he?”
The King of Western Liang answered honestly, “He’s still in the city, in a place called the Parlour of Rain and Clouds. He’s with the master of the Sect of Clouds and Rain.”
“Heh, he faces imminent doom, yet he’s still unaware, still drowning himself in the pleasures of a common woman.”
Si Long seemed to be in control of everything. He was completely unaffected by the annihilation of the diplomatic group.
The King of Western Liang had seen Qiu Haitang several times before. He disagreed very much with calling her a “common woman”. If it were not for all those qualms, he would have wanted to accept her into his harem too. However, reality proved his qualms to be correct. It was best if he did not even look at Li Qingshan’s women, just in case it led to trouble.
He thought to himself, I don’t know how he’s facing imminent doom. If you want me to confront him, I’ll probably be facing imminent doom first.
Si Long seemed to read his thoughts. “Don’t worry. I won’t make you do something as pointless as throwing yourself at an undefeatable enemy. He’s my opponent.”
The King of Western Liang eased up. “Then how may I help you, fellow?”
Si Long said, “I have a notice of denunciation. You will spread it across the Lightning province for me so that everyone knows about it.”
“A notice of denunciation?”
The King of Western Liang was surprised. If denouncing someone worked, what was the point of cultivation? Was it only for the sake of venting? But that was not rational at all. Not only would he fail to harm even a hair on Li Qingshan, but it would completely expose his hostility instead and lead to mockery.
“You don’t need to be surprised. You will understand in the future. He thinks he can threaten me by destroying the world, but it instead assists me in unifying the hearts of the people. On the fifteenth of the tenth month, during the wedding, I will make an offering to the heavens on Dragonshead mountain and gather the heroes of the world to slay this wicked person.”
The King of Western Liang immediately understood what Si Long was trying. It made him shiver. He truly was the founding emperor, the Human Sovereign. Just like that, Li Qingshan was done for. He lowered his head deeply.
“Yes, your majesty!”
